A drama in the middle of the day.
A 34-year-old woman died this Saturday at La Gouesnière station, near Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) after being hit by a TER, report several local media including Ouest-France and France Bleu Armorique.
According to the SNCF and the firefighters cited by France Bleu Armorique, the young woman had tried to cross the train tracks by using the pedestrian crossing.
This is where a TER hit her.
“We made observations after the tragedy with our teams and we can attest that the light signals are functioning normally,” SNCF assured France Bleu Armorique.
According to initial information, this woman - who died instantly according to Le Télégramme - was part of a group of eight people.
She was the first to try to cross, to reach the parking lot located on the other side of the track.
According to Ouest-France, around ten people witnessed this accident.
An open investigation
The train in question - whose driver was shocked - remained immobilized for almost three hours, the place where it was stopped not allowing the 70 passengers to get off.
An investigation was opened and entrusted to the gendarmerie.
Testimonies from other travelers were collected.
Also read: A 14-year-old girl fatally hit by a train linking Paris to Toulouse
A similar accident had already occurred Friday evening at Albias station (Tarn-et-Garonne).
A 14-year-old girl was hit by a train while trying to cross the tracks.
The young girl had just gotten off a TER, shortly after 9 p.m., and was crossing the tracks on a dedicated passage in order to leave the station, when she was mowed down by an Intercités train coming in the opposite direction and not marking the stop.
She was in the company of a group of young girls, who were interviewed by investigators on Friday evening.
Among the gray areas that the investigation will have to clarify, the question of knowing whether the sound and light signal warning of the arrival of a train worked well, as the first findings suggest.